CNSL 642: Human Development
Tom’s Case Study
CNSL 642 – Human Development II
Professor: Martinez
December 19, 2011
The case of Tom is a powerful story, but one that is not unheard of. Many of us can relate to Tom’s story, his family dynamics, and the oppression he experienced. Although this case is somewhat complex I will analyze this case from various theoretical perspectives such as, Adlerian Therapy, Existential Therapy, Person-Centered Therapy, Behavior Therapy, Cognitive Therapy Gestalt therapy. I will emphasize only some of the main points from each therapeutic approach and discuss the major focus of counseling therapy, goals the therapist should set for the Tom, techniques and strategies the therapist should implement and ultimately, how I would bring change to this particular client.
Adlerian therapy-Striving for superiority to overcome basic inferiority is a normal part of life. Adlerian therapy also focuses on birth constellation how this has an impact on one’s later personality and functioning.
Example- Tom is the Middle child of five children. He is always compared to his other siblings.
Adlerian therapy can be used in more ways than one in this particular case. The birth order seems to play a great deal on …show more content…
Tom’s development. Generally children want to be provided with security, reassurance, and love. They want to know that their parents are proud of their accomplishments and love them for who they are. Children should not have to endure being compared to their siblings. The constant comparison of children can ultimately lead to sibling rivalry and jealousy. They may become upset with one another and feel as if one sibling is more significant than the other. Children tend to feel inferior and would question their worth. Their extraordinary talents are hindered because they would feel as if they are being molded into something they are not. This is obvious in Tom’s household. Growing up his mother gave most of the attention to Mary his younger sister, and his father always compared him to his older brother Lebron. As stated in the case study, Tom had a lot of resentments towards his mother even as an adult. He would push her away when she tried to make any connection with him. The statement of “Mom, I am not a kid anymore” has a big message behind it. Perhaps he feels that now it is too late for his mother to try and show him all the love and attention he needed when he was growing up. The counselor should also focus on Tom’s feelings of inferiority by highlighting his progressive career success and at the same time try to work on his social life. The “empty spot” he feels might be a reflection of Tom not having a healthy relationship with his parents. It would be difficult for him to allow anyone into his life after having such bad experience with his family. The therapist should set specific goals to help Tom with his lifestyle and social interest or lack of thereof. The therapeutic process should start by encouraging Tom to have a positive attitude and encourage him to give himself credit for all of his professional achievements as well as his desire to help children in need. Seeking the goal of superiority in a positive sense might mean helping others through business, social dealings, education, or similar methods (Scharf, 2011). This behavior is expressed in the case study. Tom worked long hours, he was considered a perfectionist, his hard work lead him to various promotions which were solely accomplished by his hard work and he also gave his time and attention to deaf and blind children. The therapist should set precise goals which would help him with his social life.
Tom’s therapist(s) would need to concentrate on his lifestyle and be able to have him open up to them. They would need to develop mutual respect and trust each with other. This will ease the process of goal setting and make it much easier for the therapist to able to provide encouragement to Tom in reaching his desired goals. Once this is done, the therapist will be able to go into details like looking for patterns in Tom’s life, identifying how the problem began and if anything in particular triggered it, what made him seek help, his family relationships, etc.
At some point in our lives we have all felt the need to feel complete; Tom has reached this point in his life.
To help him go through this process I would work together with Tom to find a path that would allow him to make positive changes in his life and feel more comfortable with himself as a person. We would discuss the goals that he hopes to achieve (the purpose of our sessions). During our sessions I would allow Tom to discover his feelings about himself and to be aware of what he likes or dislikes in regards to his own person. Also in regards to his experiences throughout his life, we would center our conversations on specific experiences that brought him to feel he needed the therapy sessions. This would provide Tom with some much needed
self-awareness.
Existential therapy-A basic existential premise is that we are not victims of our circumstance because to a large extent, we are what we choose to be.
Example-Tom Volunteers with deaf and blind children. Has his past have any impact on him negatively, he would not be capable of caring for children. The major focus should be to get Tom to understand that his feelings of being in the world alone and facing the anxiety of his isolation (Corey, 2008). Tom chooses to think that others don’t like him at all. He spends time feeling sorry for himself. He believes he is awkward in social situations and doesn’t do the right thing at the right time. Thinking this way would prevent him from having healthy relationships with other adults. This might be the reason why he feels most comfortable around children. Perhaps he feels that children won’t judge him to the same extent an adult would.
For this particular case study, self awareness is important because it would help Tom have a better understanding of himself. By doing so, he would be empowered to make changes and build on areas of strength as well as identify areas where he would like to make improvements; particularly, his social skills and insecurities. Granted, Tom did not have the best relationship with his family and siblings with the (exception of Tamika), he allowed this to interfere with his development and social life. Existential therapy will be great for Tom because it would teach him to accept responsibilities for his choices. He had the opportunity to make amends with his mother, but instead he would avoid her at family gatherings. Whenever she approached him, he would push her away. He is choosing to carry the hard feelings instead of taking the opportunity to speak to his mother and express how his family constellations have impacted his adulthood. Another goal of Existential therapy is for Tom to understand that he has the ability of shaping his destiny. He needs to learn how to stop blaming his parents and siblings and accept responsibilities for his decisions. He is responsible for not having a healthy relationship with the opposite sex because he chooses to walk away when a female wants to be committed to him.
The main techniques and strategies the therapist should implement in this particular case is making sure that Tom understands that therapy is a journey taken by therapist and client therefore, the person to person relationship is key when dealing with Tom’s isolations and his fear in social settings.
I would place much more emphasis on the Tom’s present state and future goals if I were his therapist. This would help Tom accept that he brought his current conditions upon himself and understand he has the freedom and the power to make significant changes. In time, Tom would learn to take responsibility for his decisions and discover his own truths about existence.
Behavior therapy- Behavioral therapy aims to modify specific, observable, maladaptive, badly adjusted, or self-destructing behaviors that can be modified by learning new, more appropriate behaviors to replace them.
Example- He doesn’t think others like him or think about him at all. He spends time feeling sorry for himself.
It is not surprising that Tom feels that others don’t like him or even take the time to think about him. A lot of his disappointments, lack of social life, and his fear of potential lovers are perhaps consequences of thoughts he engraved in his head. Tom is used to his own family sort of rejecting him and not being supportive of his accomplishments. This led him to develop low self-esteem and fear to connect with others.
Due to Tom’s history with his family, it is obvious that it would be difficult for him to connect with others; particularly with any female. He didn’t have a close relationship with his mother. He always had to compete for his mother’s attention with his younger sister Mary. As an adult it may be difficult for him to develop a connection with a female, especially one outside of his family. The competition amongst his siblings and both of his parents constantly favoring the other children over him is preventing him from having lasting relationships. The general goals of behavior therapy are to increase personal choice and to create new conditions for learning (Corey, 2008). In order to help Tom change the way he sees himself and the life he leads the therapist needs to establish a central relationship of trust in which Tom would feel free to express his personal thought and emotions. This process might be difficult for him because he is not used to expressing his feelings. Whenever he feels the pressure to express his feelings or emotions to others he pushes them away. For example, he pushes his mother away whenever she tries to approach him to give him love and attention even though that is the only thing he wanted when he was growing up. He also feels this way towards the opposite sex, particularly when they try to get emotionally involved with him.
Another goal when dealing with Tom would be to help him accomplish Self- efficacy. According to Bandura (1989b, 1997), self- efficacy is the individual’s perception of his ability to deal with different types of situations. In order for Tom to conquer his socially inept life and hard feelings towards his family he first has to develop a sense of self-efficacy. The first should be to identify the goals he wants to accomplish. Therapy can be followed by role playing and modeling effective communication skills. The role should consist of him expressing how he feels to his mother. I believe that once he feels at ease with his mother, he would be more at ease when dealing with other females.
Behavioral therapy has a few techniques that can help Tom; some of these are role-playing, skill training and systematic desensitization. Role-playing and skills training can be a very valuable experience for Tom because it would help him with anxiety in social situations. The therapist and Tom can role-play the act of starting up a conversation and making “small-talk”; social skill that is very important and common. Systematic desensitization is the act of gradually pairing an anxiety-producing situation with a more desired feeling or response. Eventually he will learn to be “desensitized” to the original fear. An example of this would be teaching him relaxation methods to utilize when dealing with females. The therapist should first have him imagine that he is in an anxiety-producing situation, but then have him think of positive images or practice relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing. Then, eventually Tom would be more capable of facing the opposite sex and not feeling unwelcomed by others. But at this point he will have the resources of the positive techniques to help him get through his anxiety and fear. Again, these are only a few of the many techniques available in behavior therapy, but it is good to see how they can be applied in Tom’s case.
As Tom’s Therapist, it is important to make sure that he is working towards getting better after each session. I would make sure that he is also doing work outside of the sessions and in his everyday life. One way to ensure that the he is working on changing his behaviors is through setting up a “contingency contract”. During the earlier sessions, Tom and I can look ahead to the behaviors he would like to change, and set up “certain positive reinforcements (rewards) associated with appropriate behaviors and negative reinforcements (punishments) associated with maladaptive behavior.” (Ford-Martin, 2005). This brings in the idea of operant conditioning, while also giving the Tom an incentive to sticking to this therapy. I would encourage Tom to spend more time taking the long vacations he enjoys and playing the piano. Most importantly, I would recommend that he spend more than one day volunteering at the deaf and blind organization for children since this is the activity he enjoys the most and would we have person to person contact.
Person-Centered Theory: It is an approach to counseling and psychotherapy that places much of the responsibility for the treatment process on the client, with the therapist taking a nondirective role.
Example- He perceives his father as distant and “cold” He can’t recall the last time his father hugged him.
It is important to acknowledge Tom’s need for unconditional positive regard. According to Rogers, unconditional positive regard involves showing complete support and acceptance of a person no matter what that person says or does. According to Carl Rogers, individuals’ perception of the positive regard has a direct impact on their own self- regard (Scharf, 2011). This is something that Tom has been missing his entire life. He never had unconditional regard from his father; instead his father gave positive regard to his older brother Lebron. Tom rarely received admiration for his accomplishments.
The goals of therapy come from the client, not the therapist. Clients move away from phoniness or superficiality to become more complex in that they develop a deeper understanding of various facets of themselves (Scharf, 2011). Tom can profit if the therapist can set specific goals for him and help him discover personal accountability for how he feels towards his father. His obsession with working hard and dedicating so many hours at work can be correlated with him trying to do things to please his father and receive the unconditional love he wanted. Together with the therapist Tom can overcome his anxiety for professionalism even though it does not make him happy. Another goal would be to have Tom focus on himself, not the problem. He is dragging his childhood into his adulthood and preventing himself from being happy. This is something only he has controlled off.
Being that Tom has issues communicating with others; the therapist should make sure to set a comfortable environment by encouraging Tom express his feeling. Also, listening and mirroring back what he reveals. It is important to help Tom explore his feelings more deeply and have him express to me what he feels at the moment. This would help Tom decide what kind of changes he would like to make and what personal goals he would like to achieve as well as achieving personal growth.
If I were Tom’s therapist I would have him focus less on pleasing others. He needs to be more realistic and less critical of himself. I would also encourage him to be less defensive with his mother and with those of the opposite sex.
Cognitive Therapy-Is an active, directive, structured approach used to treat a variety of disorder (example, depression, anxiety, phobias, etc.) (Beck, 1979) Example- Lately he has been feeling tired for no apparent reason. His lack of energy makes it difficult to get up in the morning.
Usually those who suffer from depression have no desire to do these things they once enjoyed or took pride in. Tom had reservations about his life and was intimidated by females he is also losing interest in his work. It is only obvious that he lost his desire to go to work and is perhaps looking at his life in a negative way because it’s the only thing he knows. He never received the love and attention he craved. Cognitive therapy should focus on helping Tom remove negative thoughts such as “he doesn’t think others like him or think about him at all” also “He fears failure and will avoid showing any type of weaknesses among his peers at work.” To improve these extreme the therapist should assign Tom homework such as a log where he can write all the negative statements he says or think about himself and then gradually have him convert those statements into more positive ones. Since Cognitive Therapy is time limited, a sound relationship between Tom and the therapist is necessary for him to achieve his goals set in therapy. It is important for the therapist to learn what Tom wants out of life and for him to achieve those goals. The therapist 's role is to listen, teach, and encourage, while Tom’s role is to express concerns, learn, and implement what he has learned.
Cognitive therapy utilizes many different techniques to help Tom gain control and solve the issues that bought him to therapy. When working with Tom it is important to use the learning approach. As stated previously homework assignments would help Tom work on specific issues that come up at specific times for example if he goes on dates having him log how he felt and what he thought his date felt about him. Once the therapist reads the list, he or she can work on teaching Tom to change negative thoughts into positive thoughts. Once Tom changes the way he thinks he will automatically change the way he acts.
Because cognitive therapy teaches the client how their beliefs are often linked to their upbringing I would encourage Tom to set realistic and self-enhancing goals and not think so much of his past experiences. I would make sure that he maintains healthy thoughts. I would also communicate that in life we cannot take what others might think about us too personally. People are always going to have an opinion and it is up him to move forward and understand who he is.
Gestalt Therapy- According to the Counseling Dictionary 3rd edition, Gestalt is a German word meaning whole figure. I take this to mean this therapy is intended to help the client to be a rounded individual
Example- Tom not being able to express to his mother how he feels, he should focus on the here and now and express to her his feelings
Gestalt therapy focuses in the here and now and being free from the blocks and unfinished issues. Tom has plenty of unfinished problems. He needs to begin by expressing how he feels. He seldom expresses any emotion or desire to work on his social and family based issues. Even though he single, he never expresses his desire to have a healthy relationship with a woman. The main focus of this approach should be to have him recognize how he feels in the here and now and what to do to change those things that are preventing him from being happy. He has allowed his family and others around him to define who he is and how he should feel about himself. He needs to take control of his life.
In order for Tom to make sense of his life the therapist has the responsibility to assist him in restoring his ability to self-regulate and most importantly have successful contact with others. This allows Tom to cope creatively with all the events in his life; most importantly it presents the opportunity for him to pursue those goals that seem desirable to him. (Example re-connecting with his mother and being able to have a romantic relationship without fears and anxiety.)
One technique that can be applied with Tom is the empty chair technique. In this technique he would express to someone in the chair how he feels. This someone could be his mother, father, siblings or perhaps someone he wishes to have a romantic relationship with. This can help him initiate the process of self-awareness, it is imperative for the therapist to encourage him to express all of his suppressed feelings. The chair technique can help Tom simulate his thinking and highlight his emotions and attitude towards others. Expressing out loud how he feels can help him understand what he needs to do to resolve his issues with others and himself. Furthermore he can bring awareness and guidance as to what he has to do to resolve his suppress issues so that he can move on with his life and enjoy the here and now.
I would bring change to Tom’s therapeutic process by making sure that our relationship is a positive one. In order for Tom to express his feelings he has to feel comfortable, that would be my main priority. I would also allow him to emerge and become whole.
In conclusion the goals of therapy should be very specific and move to helping Tom become aware of what he wants, how he sees himself and he would like for others to see him. Most importantly the therapist should refrain from judging Tom and instead drive for Tom to experience unconditional positive regard which is something he never experience in his household.
References
Beck, A. T. (1979). Cognitive Therapy of Depression . Guildford Press.
Corey, G. (2008). Theory and Practice of Counseling and psychotherapy. Thomson Brooks/Cole.
Scharf, R 2011. Theories of Psychotherapy and Counseling. (5. Ed., Ed.) New York: Brooks/Cole.
Ford-Martin, P. (2005). Behavioral therapy. Retrieved from http://www.healthline.com/galecontent/behavioral-therapy#
CNSL 642 – Human Development II
Professor: Martinez
December 19, 2011
The case of Tom is a powerful story, but one that is not unheard of. Many of us can relate to Tom’s story, his family dynamics, and the oppression he experienced. Although this case is somewhat complex I will analyze this case from various theoretical perspectives such as, Adlerian Therapy, Existential Therapy, Person-Centered Therapy, Behavior Therapy, Cognitive Therapy Gestalt therapy. I will emphasize only some of the main points from each therapeutic approach and discuss the major focus of counseling therapy, goals the therapist should set for the Tom, techniques and strategies the therapist should implement and ultimately, how I would bring change to this particular client.
Adlerian therapy-Striving for superiority to overcome basic inferiority is a normal part of life. Adlerian therapy also focuses on birth constellation how this has an impact on one’s later personality and functioning.
Example- Tom is the Middle child of five children. He is always compared to his other siblings.
Adlerian therapy can be used in more ways than one in this particular case. The birth order seems to play a great deal on …show more content…
Tom’s development. Generally children want to be provided with security, reassurance, and love. They want to know that their parents are proud of their accomplishments and love them for who they are. Children should not have to endure being compared to their siblings. The constant comparison of children can ultimately lead to sibling rivalry and jealousy. They may become upset with one another and feel as if one sibling is more significant than the other. Children tend to feel inferior and would question their worth. Their extraordinary talents are hindered because they would feel as if they are being molded into something they are not. This is obvious in Tom’s household. Growing up his mother gave most of the attention to Mary his younger sister, and his father always compared him to his older brother Lebron. As stated in the case study, Tom had a lot of resentments towards his mother even as an adult. He would push her away when she tried to make any connection with him. The statement of “Mom, I am not a kid anymore” has a big message behind it. Perhaps he feels that now it is too late for his mother to try and show him all the love and attention he needed when he was growing up. The counselor should also focus on Tom’s feelings of inferiority by highlighting his progressive career success and at the same time try to work on his social life. The “empty spot” he feels might be a reflection of Tom not having a healthy relationship with his parents. It would be difficult for him to allow anyone into his life after having such bad experience with his family. The therapist should set specific goals to help Tom with his lifestyle and social interest or lack of thereof. The therapeutic process should start by encouraging Tom to have a positive attitude and encourage him to give himself credit for all of his professional achievements as well as his desire to help children in need. Seeking the goal of superiority in a positive sense might mean helping others through business, social dealings, education, or similar methods (Scharf, 2011). This behavior is expressed in the case study. Tom worked long hours, he was considered a perfectionist, his hard work lead him to various promotions which were solely accomplished by his hard work and he also gave his time and attention to deaf and blind children. The therapist should set precise goals which would help him with his social life.
Tom’s therapist(s) would need to concentrate on his lifestyle and be able to have him open up to them. They would need to develop mutual respect and trust each with other. This will ease the process of goal setting and make it much easier for the therapist to able to provide encouragement to Tom in reaching his desired goals. Once this is done, the therapist will be able to go into details like looking for patterns in Tom’s life, identifying how the problem began and if anything in particular triggered it, what made him seek help, his family relationships, etc.
At some point in our lives we have all felt the need to feel complete; Tom has reached this point in his life.
To help him go through this process I would work together with Tom to find a path that would allow him to make positive changes in his life and feel more comfortable with himself as a person. We would discuss the goals that he hopes to achieve (the purpose of our sessions). During our sessions I would allow Tom to discover his feelings about himself and to be aware of what he likes or dislikes in regards to his own person. Also in regards to his experiences throughout his life, we would center our conversations on specific experiences that brought him to feel he needed the therapy sessions. This would provide Tom with some much needed
self-awareness.
Existential therapy-A basic existential premise is that we are not victims of our circumstance because to a large extent, we are what we choose to be.
Example-Tom Volunteers with deaf and blind children. Has his past have any impact on him negatively, he would not be capable of caring for children. The major focus should be to get Tom to understand that his feelings of being in the world alone and facing the anxiety of his isolation (Corey, 2008). Tom chooses to think that others don’t like him at all. He spends time feeling sorry for himself. He believes he is awkward in social situations and doesn’t do the right thing at the right time. Thinking this way would prevent him from having healthy relationships with other adults. This might be the reason why he feels most comfortable around children. Perhaps he feels that children won’t judge him to the same extent an adult would.
For this particular case study, self awareness is important because it would help Tom have a better understanding of himself. By doing so, he would be empowered to make changes and build on areas of strength as well as identify areas where he would like to make improvements; particularly, his social skills and insecurities. Granted, Tom did not have the best relationship with his family and siblings with the (exception of Tamika), he allowed this to interfere with his development and social life. Existential therapy will be great for Tom because it would teach him to accept responsibilities for his choices. He had the opportunity to make amends with his mother, but instead he would avoid her at family gatherings. Whenever she approached him, he would push her away. He is choosing to carry the hard feelings instead of taking the opportunity to speak to his mother and express how his family constellations have impacted his adulthood. Another goal of Existential therapy is for Tom to understand that he has the ability of shaping his destiny. He needs to learn how to stop blaming his parents and siblings and accept responsibilities for his decisions. He is responsible for not having a healthy relationship with the opposite sex because he chooses to walk away when a female wants to be committed to him.
The main techniques and strategies the therapist should implement in this particular case is making sure that Tom understands that therapy is a journey taken by therapist and client therefore, the person to person relationship is key when dealing with Tom’s isolations and his fear in social settings.
I would place much more emphasis on the Tom’s present state and future goals if I were his therapist. This would help Tom accept that he brought his current conditions upon himself and understand he has the freedom and the power to make significant changes. In time, Tom would learn to take responsibility for his decisions and discover his own truths about existence.
Behavior therapy- Behavioral therapy aims to modify specific, observable, maladaptive, badly adjusted, or self-destructing behaviors that can be modified by learning new, more appropriate behaviors to replace them.
Example- He doesn’t think others like him or think about him at all. He spends time feeling sorry for himself.
It is not surprising that Tom feels that others don’t like him or even take the time to think about him. A lot of his disappointments, lack of social life, and his fear of potential lovers are perhaps consequences of thoughts he engraved in his head. Tom is used to his own family sort of rejecting him and not being supportive of his accomplishments. This led him to develop low self-esteem and fear to connect with others.
Due to Tom’s history with his family, it is obvious that it would be difficult for him to connect with others; particularly with any female. He didn’t have a close relationship with his mother. He always had to compete for his mother’s attention with his younger sister Mary. As an adult it may be difficult for him to develop a connection with a female, especially one outside of his family. The competition amongst his siblings and both of his parents constantly favoring the other children over him is preventing him from having lasting relationships. The general goals of behavior therapy are to increase personal choice and to create new conditions for learning (Corey, 2008). In order to help Tom change the way he sees himself and the life he leads the therapist needs to establish a central relationship of trust in which Tom would feel free to express his personal thought and emotions. This process might be difficult for him because he is not used to expressing his feelings. Whenever he feels the pressure to express his feelings or emotions to others he pushes them away. For example, he pushes his mother away whenever she tries to approach him to give him love and attention even though that is the only thing he wanted when he was growing up. He also feels this way towards the opposite sex, particularly when they try to get emotionally involved with him.
Another goal when dealing with Tom would be to help him accomplish Self- efficacy. According to Bandura (1989b, 1997), self- efficacy is the individual’s perception of his ability to deal with different types of situations. In order for Tom to conquer his socially inept life and hard feelings towards his family he first has to develop a sense of self-efficacy. The first should be to identify the goals he wants to accomplish. Therapy can be followed by role playing and modeling effective communication skills. The role should consist of him expressing how he feels to his mother. I believe that once he feels at ease with his mother, he would be more at ease when dealing with other females.
Behavioral therapy has a few techniques that can help Tom; some of these are role-playing, skill training and systematic desensitization. Role-playing and skills training can be a very valuable experience for Tom because it would help him with anxiety in social situations. The therapist and Tom can role-play the act of starting up a conversation and making “small-talk”; social skill that is very important and common. Systematic desensitization is the act of gradually pairing an anxiety-producing situation with a more desired feeling or response. Eventually he will learn to be “desensitized” to the original fear. An example of this would be teaching him relaxation methods to utilize when dealing with females. The therapist should first have him imagine that he is in an anxiety-producing situation, but then have him think of positive images or practice relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing. Then, eventually Tom would be more capable of facing the opposite sex and not feeling unwelcomed by others. But at this point he will have the resources of the positive techniques to help him get through his anxiety and fear. Again, these are only a few of the many techniques available in behavior therapy, but it is good to see how they can be applied in Tom’s case.
As Tom’s Therapist, it is important to make sure that he is working towards getting better after each session. I would make sure that he is also doing work outside of the sessions and in his everyday life. One way to ensure that the he is working on changing his behaviors is through setting up a “contingency contract”. During the earlier sessions, Tom and I can look ahead to the behaviors he would like to change, and set up “certain positive reinforcements (rewards) associated with appropriate behaviors and negative reinforcements (punishments) associated with maladaptive behavior.” (Ford-Martin, 2005). This brings in the idea of operant conditioning, while also giving the Tom an incentive to sticking to this therapy. I would encourage Tom to spend more time taking the long vacations he enjoys and playing the piano. Most importantly, I would recommend that he spend more than one day volunteering at the deaf and blind organization for children since this is the activity he enjoys the most and would we have person to person contact.
Person-Centered Theory: It is an approach to counseling and psychotherapy that places much of the responsibility for the treatment process on the client, with the therapist taking a nondirective role.
Example- He perceives his father as distant and “cold” He can’t recall the last time his father hugged him.
It is important to acknowledge Tom’s need for unconditional positive regard. According to Rogers, unconditional positive regard involves showing complete support and acceptance of a person no matter what that person says or does. According to Carl Rogers, individuals’ perception of the positive regard has a direct impact on their own self- regard (Scharf, 2011). This is something that Tom has been missing his entire life. He never had unconditional regard from his father; instead his father gave positive regard to his older brother Lebron. Tom rarely received admiration for his accomplishments.
The goals of therapy come from the client, not the therapist. Clients move away from phoniness or superficiality to become more complex in that they develop a deeper understanding of various facets of themselves (Scharf, 2011). Tom can profit if the therapist can set specific goals for him and help him discover personal accountability for how he feels towards his father. His obsession with working hard and dedicating so many hours at work can be correlated with him trying to do things to please his father and receive the unconditional love he wanted. Together with the therapist Tom can overcome his anxiety for professionalism even though it does not make him happy. Another goal would be to have Tom focus on himself, not the problem. He is dragging his childhood into his adulthood and preventing himself from being happy. This is something only he has controlled off.
Being that Tom has issues communicating with others; the therapist should make sure to set a comfortable environment by encouraging Tom express his feeling. Also, listening and mirroring back what he reveals. It is important to help Tom explore his feelings more deeply and have him express to me what he feels at the moment. This would help Tom decide what kind of changes he would like to make and what personal goals he would like to achieve as well as achieving personal growth.
If I were Tom’s therapist I would have him focus less on pleasing others. He needs to be more realistic and less critical of himself. I would also encourage him to be less defensive with his mother and with those of the opposite sex.
Cognitive Therapy-Is an active, directive, structured approach used to treat a variety of disorder (example, depression, anxiety, phobias, etc.) (Beck, 1979) Example- Lately he has been feeling tired for no apparent reason. His lack of energy makes it difficult to get up in the morning.
Usually those who suffer from depression have no desire to do these things they once enjoyed or took pride in. Tom had reservations about his life and was intimidated by females he is also losing interest in his work. It is only obvious that he lost his desire to go to work and is perhaps looking at his life in a negative way because it’s the only thing he knows. He never received the love and attention he craved. Cognitive therapy should focus on helping Tom remove negative thoughts such as “he doesn’t think others like him or think about him at all” also “He fears failure and will avoid showing any type of weaknesses among his peers at work.” To improve these extreme the therapist should assign Tom homework such as a log where he can write all the negative statements he says or think about himself and then gradually have him convert those statements into more positive ones. Since Cognitive Therapy is time limited, a sound relationship between Tom and the therapist is necessary for him to achieve his goals set in therapy. It is important for the therapist to learn what Tom wants out of life and for him to achieve those goals. The therapist 's role is to listen, teach, and encourage, while Tom’s role is to express concerns, learn, and implement what he has learned.
Cognitive therapy utilizes many different techniques to help Tom gain control and solve the issues that bought him to therapy. When working with Tom it is important to use the learning approach. As stated previously homework assignments would help Tom work on specific issues that come up at specific times for example if he goes on dates having him log how he felt and what he thought his date felt about him. Once the therapist reads the list, he or she can work on teaching Tom to change negative thoughts into positive thoughts. Once Tom changes the way he thinks he will automatically change the way he acts.
Because cognitive therapy teaches the client how their beliefs are often linked to their upbringing I would encourage Tom to set realistic and self-enhancing goals and not think so much of his past experiences. I would make sure that he maintains healthy thoughts. I would also communicate that in life we cannot take what others might think about us too personally. People are always going to have an opinion and it is up him to move forward and understand who he is.
Gestalt Therapy- According to the Counseling Dictionary 3rd edition, Gestalt is a German word meaning whole figure. I take this to mean this therapy is intended to help the client to be a rounded individual
Example- Tom not being able to express to his mother how he feels, he should focus on the here and now and express to her his feelings
Gestalt therapy focuses in the here and now and being free from the blocks and unfinished issues. Tom has plenty of unfinished problems. He needs to begin by expressing how he feels. He seldom expresses any emotion or desire to work on his social and family based issues. Even though he single, he never expresses his desire to have a healthy relationship with a woman. The main focus of this approach should be to have him recognize how he feels in the here and now and what to do to change those things that are preventing him from being happy. He has allowed his family and others around him to define who he is and how he should feel about himself. He needs to take control of his life.
In order for Tom to make sense of his life the therapist has the responsibility to assist him in restoring his ability to self-regulate and most importantly have successful contact with others. This allows Tom to cope creatively with all the events in his life; most importantly it presents the opportunity for him to pursue those goals that seem desirable to him. (Example re-connecting with his mother and being able to have a romantic relationship without fears and anxiety.)
One technique that can be applied with Tom is the empty chair technique. In this technique he would express to someone in the chair how he feels. This someone could be his mother, father, siblings or perhaps someone he wishes to have a romantic relationship with. This can help him initiate the process of self-awareness, it is imperative for the therapist to encourage him to express all of his suppressed feelings. The chair technique can help Tom simulate his thinking and highlight his emotions and attitude towards others. Expressing out loud how he feels can help him understand what he needs to do to resolve his issues with others and himself. Furthermore he can bring awareness and guidance as to what he has to do to resolve his suppress issues so that he can move on with his life and enjoy the here and now.
I would bring change to Tom’s therapeutic process by making sure that our relationship is a positive one. In order for Tom to express his feelings he has to feel comfortable, that would be my main priority. I would also allow him to emerge and become whole.
In conclusion the goals of therapy should be very specific and move to helping Tom become aware of what he wants, how he sees himself and he would like for others to see him. Most importantly the therapist should refrain from judging Tom and instead drive for Tom to experience unconditional positive regard which is something he never experience in his household.
References
Beck, A. T. (1979). Cognitive Therapy of Depression . Guildford Press.
Corey, G. (2008). Theory and Practice of Counseling and psychotherapy. Thomson Brooks/Cole.
Scharf, R 2011. Theories of Psychotherapy and Counseling. (5. Ed., Ed.) New York: Brooks/Cole.
Ford-Martin, P. (2005). Behavioral therapy. Retrieved from http://www.healthline.com/galecontent/behavioral-therapy#